hoops.ws cost

[elindholm]

Hello all prospective hoops.ws managers,

I just found out something that you may want to know about.

Basic participating on the hoops.ws site is still free. But if you want all of their statistics utilities -- which are very useful ways to keep track of how your players are doing, identify promising free agents, evaluate possible trades, and so on -- it will cost $20 for the season. (Last season, the statistics were free too.) It's certainly possible to run your team without the statistics. In my opinion, the statistics provide a competitive edge, but one could also argue that I'm just deluding myself.

Either way, my personal opinion is that it's easily worth it. In fact, I'm almost glad that they've found a way to start charging for the site, because it SHOULD (!) make the site more reliable. (It has been quite buggy in the past.) But if you want to stick to leagues where you can get everything for free, this one may not be for you.

 

[Chaplin]

My opinion has never been high on the site's statistics. Sure, it's nice to have a points-per-fantasy-minute statistic, but that really matters for your bottom-of-the-barrel players.

If Jake Voskuhl scores more points-per-game than Tracy McGrady, does that mean you're going to start Voskuhl over McGrady? Uhh, no.

With all the bugs in that site, 20 dollars is way too steep. The site hasn't earned my trust enough to fork over money. And I've been using it for years.

 

[Brian in Mesa]

Can't you simply play ws but use yahoo's free rankings/stats to check up on the players?

 

[slinslin]

No, they have different scoring systems.
Of course you can just calculate their numbers on your own.


And of course you would start Voshkul over McGrady if he scored more points per game.

 

[elindholm]

Right, I definitely figured that there would be some objection to this. I personally don't object, but I'm just one person.

Everyone, please spend a week or so thinking it over and decide whether you'd still like to play. We can go with a smaller league if that's what people want to do.

 

[Tank]

I'm still in....
I think none of us should pay for the stat service. I think it would make it a little more interesting.
I know I'm not going to, but I'm not going to have a problem with it if someone else does.

 

[elindholm]

I just really enjoy playing around with all the stats, and it wouldn't be the same to me without them. But as my opponents can tell you, there's no indication that using the stats made my team any better last year!

 

[Brian in Mesa]

I'm in, but am not paying for stats either.

 

[Gorilla]

I´m still 100% in..!!!

 

[Joe Mama]

Originally posted by Chaplin
If Jake Voskuhl scores more points-per-game than Tracy McGrady, does that mean you're going to start Voskuhl over McGrady? Uhh, no.

Either you did a poor job of putting what you were thinking into words, or this is an indication of why you haven't won.

I do agree with you regarding the bugs with the site. I'll pay the $20 because I use the statistics frequently. I only hope that some of that money will go into making the site more reliable. It was much better last season, but it's still had its problems.

Gilbert Gimps will repeat in 2003-04!

Joe Mama

 

[slinslin]

You wish!

Does everyone have to pay 20$ to get the statistics or only one person so the stats are available for the whole season?

 

[elindholm]

Every person who wants the stats must pay $20 individually. It is possible that, once things are up and running, I'll be able to figure out a way to "steal" the stats for everyone else. (I don't mind paying the $20.) But I wouldn't count on that, so yes, figure on $20 for any person who wants the stats.

 

[Chris_Sanders]

I would pay because I got $20 of enjoyment out of the game.

We are basically paying to support the site.

 

[slinslin]

That's ridiculous.
They want 320 $ if a 16-man league wants to use statistics?

I am not paying especially since hoops.ws is an american based site and I am from germany which makes the whole transaction ever more difficult for me if not impossible since I don't have a credit card anyway only EC.

 

[elindholm]

We are basically paying to support the site.

Right, exactly. In fact, the site refers to the stats payment as a "donation" (lol). Of course, Chaplin has a good point too in that the site hasn't exactly been all that reliable in the past.

It's a personal decision.

 

[slinslin]

I mean I could understand 2-5 $ but 20$ !?!

If we want to pay we could have made a keeper league right away.

 

[Chaplin]

Originally posted by Joe Mama
Either you did a poor job of putting what you were thinking into words, or this is an indication of why you haven't won.

I do agree with you regarding the bugs with the site. I'll pay the $20 because I use the statistics frequently. I only hope that some of that money will go into making the site more reliable. It was much better last season, but it's still had its problems.

Gilbert Gimps will repeat in 2003-04!

Joe Mama

POINTS PER MINUTE

I just reread what I wrote. Doh!

 

[sly fly]

I have no problem paying for the stats. Heck, if they asked for $20 just to play, I would do it.

These guys put out a product. We like it. We play it. It's only fair to help them out.

 

[elindholm]

Heck, if they asked for $20 just to play, I would do it.

I would too, but it would be harder to form a big league that way. This system works well, because no one has to pay, but the people that are willing to pay get some benefits that might help them win.

Of course, the banner ads for porno sites that they ran for a while last season were an acceptable solution too...

 

[Chaplin]

Maybe you guys just misunderstood.

I love the concept of the site, and I especially love the rules and scoring.

But, again, every single year there is some sort of problem. The site's administrators haven't given me a good enough sense of trust in order to fork over 20 bucks. That's all. If their record of success was a little better with me, then by all means, it'd be worth it. But right now, I just don't trust them enough.

 

[elindholm]

Chaplin,

I'm certainly not calling you a cheapskate. I can see arguments for both sides. My only year of experience with them was last year, and while it was certainly very buggy, they did end up fixing most of the important ones. I guess it has been even worse in past years. I'm willing to take the risk, but I do understand it's a risk and I might regret it in the end.

 

[elindholm]

Update

There are a few new developments with respect to the payment on the hoops.ws site.

1. Right now, everyone has full access to last year's stats, even if they haven't paid anything. Apparently the payment will be for only this year's stats.

2. If you want to "donate" anyway, click on "HELP," at the top right of the league home screen, just below the question mark in the red box.

3a. Now they say they'll give you the stats for only $10. If you donate $20, you get something like "premium customer service," which is probably nonsense. I went ahead and gave them $20 because I feel like supporting the site, but I'm sure $10 would give you all you want. If premium customer service amounts to anything interesting, I'll let you know.

3b. Either way, I'd hold off on giving them anything until it actually makes a difference. Right now, there's nothing to look at except last year's stats, and everyone already has those.

4. The payment is handled through PayPal. The hoops.ws page allows you to set up a PayPal account on the fly, so it's just like making any other payment. If you already have a PayPal account, there's a link for that. PayPal doesn't ask you for any information beyond what you'd make for any on-line payment (like Amazon, for instance).

 

[Zarko_The_Great]

does this mean we have to pay by credit card?

 

[elindholm]

does this mean we have to pay by credit card?

The simple answer is "yes," but then somewhere else on the site -- I can't remember where -- I thought it said that it wasn't necessary. If credit card payment is a problem, let me know, and I'll ask them about alternate methods. Since I'm a Premium Preferred Deluxe member, they should answer my question, right?

 

[elindholm]

Okay, the full stats are off-line now unless you pay. But it's only $10, not $20. $20 gets you "VIP customer support." I paid the $20 and did actually ask them a question once, and they did indeed give me a personalized, informative answer within 24 hours. However, I can't imagine that this would be of much use to anyone except for the commissioner.

So, my recommendation is, pay $10 if you want the stats, but don't pay $20 unless you really do feel like making a "donation."

The way to pay is through the "Help" link at the top right corner of the main league page. Click there, and then find the appropriate link in the bottom right of the help page. From that point on it's very easy. They do it through PayPal.